LEXINGTON, Va. ? Behind five players in double figures, including a career-high 22 points from Willie Bell and a 20-point second half from Chavis Holmes, the red-hot VMI Keydets defeated the Presbyterian Blue Hose 90-75 Monday night at Cameron Hall. The win is VMI's 10th-straight victory, and its 13th in the Keydets' past 14 contests.
With the win, VMI moves to 14-2 overall, and the Keydets assure themselves of remaining alone atop the Big South, thanks to their perfect 6-0 mark. The victory equals VMI's second-longest winning streak ever, and is the team's first 10-game winning streak since 1978. The triumph also allows VMI to equal its win total, 14, from each of the past two seasons.
Presbyterian drops to 6-11 overall with the loss, and the setback makes the Blue Hose 3-3 in conference action.
The Keydets came into the game hot, winners of nine straight, but VMI started the game off cold, hitting just one of its first 11 shot attempts. After an Austin Kenon three-pointer just 10 seconds into the game, VMI missed its next 10 shots, and did not hit another field goal until a Keith Gabriel trey at the 15:07 mark. Despite the nearly five-minute drought, Gabriel's three-point basket gave the Keydets an 8-7 advantage.
Over the next several minutes, Presbyterian was able to hang close, allowing VMI an advantage of no greater than seven points. That edge came at the 9:49 mark off a Quinn Brownfield three-point field goal, but the Blue Hose fought back and retook the lead just two minutes later. An 8-0 Presbyterian run over the next two-plus minutes gave the visiting squad a 27-26 advantage with 7:33 remaining in the opening half. That would be Presbyterian's final lead of the day.
The Keydets grabbed the lead back just a minute later, as Michael Sparks nailed a three-pointer to make the score 29-27. That basket started a 12-3 VMI run that gave the Keydets an eight-point cushion with 4:35 left in the first half, and the home team increased that edge to 11 with 31 seconds to spare. Presbyterian cut its deficit to nine with a late basket, giving VMI a 45-36 lead at the break.
Bell led VMI in the first half with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Chase Holmes led Presbyterian with 10 markers.
The Keydets started the second half on a 5-0 mini-spurt to go up by 14, and held a double digit lead for the majority of the next six minutes. VMI went up 13 on a Chavis Holmes jumper at the 15:25 mark, but the Blue Hose responded with a 6-0 run to chop the Keydet advantage to just seven, 54-47. That was the closest Presbyterian would get the remainder of the evening.
VMI's Gabriel answered the run with a three-pointer, putting the Keydets back up by double-digits, 57-47, and sparking a 10-0 VMI run over the next 1:20. When the push was over, concluded by a Kenon triple at the 12:40 mark, the home team was up 17 and pulling away.
The Keydets led comfortably the rest of the way, including a game-best 19-point cushion with just over six minutes to play. The Blue Hose cut the lead to 12 on several occasions, but could get no closer, despite fouling late to try to prolong the contest. VMI converted five-of-six free throws over the last 1:38 to ice the game, and help account for the final score, 90-75.
The Keydets were led by Chavis Holmes and Bell, as Holmes had 20 of his 24 points in the second half, while Bell had 12 rebounds and six assists to help VMI to the victory.
Al'Lonzo Coleman led the charge for Presbyterian, as he tallied 19 points and 16 rebounds in the loss.
With the win, the Keydets have opened conference play 6-0 for the first time since 1976-77, and the team is a perfect 8-0 at Cameron Hall. VMI's 13 wins in 14 games is its best run since 1978.
VMI returns to action on Saturday, playing host to Liberty at 1 p.m. at Cameron Hall. The game marks Keydet Club Day, and the program will welcome back all of the starters from the 1975-76 and 1976-77 Southern Conference Championship teams. There will also be an Alumni Game featuring former Keydet players following the VMI-Liberty contest.
Quotes --- VMI Head Coach Duggar Baucom:
“I'm just so proud of the guys right now, especially Willie Bell. He's been up and down a little bit but his effort is always there. We had talked the two previous days about how tough Al'Lonzo Coleman was for Presbyterian, but for Willie to come out and outscore him and almost outrebound him, and his six assists were impressive also.”
“I told the guys after the game that we have held the fort for four games without Travis (Holmes). We've had different guys stepping up on different nights. Quinn Brownfield, what a game he had, to step up and make plays...and Chavis had an unbelievable second half. Ron Burks didn't have as great a game offensively but he did a good job defensively and we had him on Coleman - a point guard guarding their post player - but Ron is so strong that he did a good job.”
“Overall, a collective effort again. Everyone that gave us minutes, I'm proud of them and the bench was great. It was a special night.”
"I was pleased with our defensive effort throughout. They are a pretty methodical team and they are pretty set in what they do and I thought if we could get to 90 points tonight, it would be a good thing. Overall, I thought we carried out the defensive game plan and did a good job.”
